In a phenomenon known as “shrinking,” post-industrial cities are facing steep population loss and vast expanses of abandoned property.

Dan Kildee, a leader in the Shrinking Cities movement and the president of Community Progress, an advocacy group that is working to change the way government approaches cities in declines, has pioneered a land-banking system in his hometown of Flint, Mich. Today, Flint’s program is a model for other troubled cities looking to cope with their huge stock of abandoned homes.

Kildee talks to Alison Stewart about the need for a national agenda, the good that comes from demolishing houses and the mental shift Americans will need to make before they stop seeing downsizing as failure.